


Coach Craig

by JinxedAmbitions



Series: AK One Shots [2]
Category: Animal Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Recreational Drug Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-04 16:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14596572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JinxedAmbitions/pseuds/JinxedAmbitions
Summary: Deran has to deal with a disappointing heat at a competition and clean up after Craig's ill-advised decisions.  Adrian has his back though, if he'll let him.





	Coach Craig

**Author's Note:**

> Another one-shot. This one takes place when Deran is a teenager, and I chose to make Adrian a couple years older than him since the show doesn't give any specifics on their ages. The idea for this came from 2x11 when Deran talks about Craig saying he was his coach to pick up girls then Deran having to drive his drunk ass home.

The cool water sprayed in Deran’s face as the wave closed out, taking him with it.  He tried not to curse at the second bad ride in a row. Time was running out in the heat, and he wasn’t going to win with rides like this.  

Kicking to the surface, Deran grabbed for his board as fast as he could.  He wanted to get back out as fast as possible, hoping to turn this heat around before the horn blasted.  Unfortunately, he didn’t catch the second wave in the set which crashed over him just as his fingers brushed his board.

The water pushed him back under, tumbling his body violently.  Deran hardly had breath in his lungs as he let his body go limp with the force of the water.  Fighting it would only make things worse.

Deran was yanked by his leash as the wave caught his board up in its tumble.  He followed his leash toward the surface as he prayed another wave didn’t bowl through as well, but just as he neared the surface, he saw the telltale roll of a wave headed his way.  

Diving as deep as he could in the shallow water, he prayed it would roll right over him.  His board had other ideas, and he felt it tug painfully at his ankle before the weight disappeared.  

This time, Deran didn’t stop his mental cursing as he swam quickly to the surface.  Deran continued to curse as a jetski cut through the water to him, and he pulled himself up onto it.

“You okay?” the driver asked as he rode them in to shore.

“Fine, just pissed,” Deran said, watching the time for the heat run out even as his broken board was washing ashore.  It had not been a great competition.

“It happens, man.  Just gotta be happy you’re okay.  Those were some big ones you got knocked around by.  Snapped your board like nothing,” the man told him, giving his shoulder a squeeze as Deran stepped onto the sand.

“I guess.”

“Your parents here?” the man asked, looking around when no one came running up to embrace Deran.

“Nah.  My brother’s here somewhere,” Deran told him, waving it off like it was nothing.  No sooner had the words come out of his mouth than he was wrapped up in a vice-like hug.  At fifteen, Deran still hadn’t hit the growth spurt everyone kept promising him, and he was lifted up like a ragdoll as he was hugged tightly.

“Jesus, I nearly puked when that second wave hit you.  You okay?” Adrian’s distinctive voice cracked as he refused to let Deran go.

Deran caught the lifeguard smiling at him, clearing believing Adrian was the brother Deran had just mentioned.  Deran didn’t correct him as Adrian completely embarrassed him in front of everyone who had already watched the ocean humiliate him.

Adrian’s fingers found their way into Deran’s hair, rubbing soothingly at his scalp as Adrian turned him to embrace him properly.  Deran let himself be hugged because he was feeling particularly bummed by that heat.

“I’m fine,” Deran mumbled against Adrian’s neck.

“You’re so full of shit.  You’re shaking like a nervous dog,” Adrian called out his shit and didn’t hesitate dragging Deran along with him.  

Adrian wouldn’t be surfing until later since he’d turned seventeen.  Deran still had another couple of years before he moved up. Still, Deran put a lot of kids older than him to shame.

“Where’s Craig?” Adrian asked when he pulled Deran into the little tent Adrian was sharing with his friends.  

Deran noticed that his broken board was already waiting for him by one of Adrian’s other friends, who was closer to Craig in age.

“Probably having sex in the truck,” Deran said, accepting the water that Adrian pushed into his hands.  

“Asshole,” Adrian muttered under his breath, running his hands through his hair in clear frustration.

“You have any weed?  Craig smoked the last of mine,” Deran asked, finishing off the bottle Adrian had given him.

Adrian didn’t say anything, but he dug through his bag and produced a small bag and rolling papers.  Deran sat down on one of the towels that had been laid out and watched Adrian roll them a joint before quickly lighting it.  

No one around them even batted an eye as Adrian passed it off to him.  “How are you getting home?” Adrian asked as the passed the joint back and forth.

“Craig.”

“Is he going to be able to drive?” Adrian asked, sounding very skeptical.

“I can drive if he doesn’t,” Deran said, shrugging.

“You don’t even have a permit yet.”

Deran just shrugged again.  It wouldn’t be the first time that he’d driven them both home after Craig went off the rails.

“He’ll probably be fine.  He doesn’t get as bad when I fuck up.  Not as many girls want to sleep with the coach of a loser.”

“Shut up.  That shit happens to everyone.  You watched me eat shit last competition,” Adrian said, punching Deran in the shoulder.  

“I know.  I...I should’ve kicked his ass.  He could hardly stay up.”

“Shit luck, man,” Adrian’s friend said, nodding as he sipped from the beer in his hand.

“Yeah,” Deran agreed, lying back on the sand and staring up at the sky.  He didn’t flinch when Adrian laid down beside him, practically on top of him for how little space there was between them.  “You don’t need to babysit me. I can handle myself,” Deran insisted, elbowing Adrian lightly.

“That why you’re pouting like a six year old?”

“Fuck you.  You cried at a competition a few months ago,” Deran reminded him.

“I broke my nose.”

“And I reset it.  Looks fine. Was nothing to cry about,” Deran told him.

“When was the last time you broke your nose?  It hurt like hell,” Adrian insisted, giving Deran a shove.  

Deran laughed as he shoved Adrian back.  “I’ve had worse. It wasn’t even like it was grossly misshapen.  I hardly had to rearrange it.”

“I could feel it shifting!”

Deran laughed, rolling in to Adrian’s side and looking down at his face.  You couldn’t even tell he’d broken it when his board came up and popped him in the face.  Deran had nearly thrown up when he’d taken hold of it and moved it back into place. He’d been terrified he’d fuck it up, but Adrian had refused to let anyone else near him.

“It doesn’t look too bad,” Deran said, turning his head this way and that.

“Fuck you,” Adrian laughed, shoving Deran’s face away.

Deran felt better as he hung out with Adrian and the group he’d come with.  The weight of his thoughts and failings was less when Adrian was sharing a joint with him or teasing him.  Not that Deran didn’t tease Adrian because he certainly did his fair share, probably more than his share.

Deran didn’t stick around when Adrian went down for his last heat.  He needed to get going, or Smurf was going to hand them their asses.

Craig wasn’t in the truck as Deran had hoped.  So, Deran was forced to go searching for his brother, since Craig wasn’t answering his phone.  Deran was tired, and he just wanted to get home, and he wasn’t in the mood for Craig’s shit.

Deran walked away from the truck, quietly fuming that he had to go hunt down his brother.  The beach and the surrounding parking areas were swarming with people. Craig may have been part giant, but he didn’t stand out among the throngs of surfers.

Looking around the beach, Deran tried to ignore the combination of his high mixed with the adrenaline crash from the heat.  He was exhausted, but Smurf would have their balls if they weren’t home in time for dinner.

The whole beach was packed.  There were the surfers moving in and out of heats, food huts, tents set up by surfers and spectators alike, and photographers crawling all over.  

Deran searched the beach for close to an hour, asking anyone he vaguely knew if they’d seen Craig.  He got asked twice by middle aged women if he was looking for his parents and if he needed to use their phone.  And he was come on to by no less than five people who were at the event for the sole purpose of getting laid.

By the time Deran found the tent Craig was occupying, he was beyond pissed.  His wetsuit was chafing as he walked all over, and he just wanted to get home.  So, he wasn’t exactly thrilled to find Craig buried under three writhing women.

“Jesus Christ, really?” Deran shouted as he stood at the opening of the large canopy.

Craig lifted one of the woman off of his face and glanced up at Deran with glassy eyes.  “What’s up?”

“I bombed.  Let’s go. Smurf’s going to kill us,” Deran insisted.

“Go smoke a joint with your buddies.  I’ll be done soon,” Craig told him, slowly lowering the woman back down.

“Bullshit!   _Now_ , Craig.  I’m not dealing with Smurf because you can’t keep your dick in your shorts,” Deran shot right back.  “Get up, or I’m leaving you here.”

“He’s no fun,” one of the woman said, kissing Craig’s bare chest.

Deran could tell they were all high, and he really didn’t have the patience for this.  He walked into the tent and grabbed Craig’s ankle. Everyone started to fall over themselves as Deran used every last bit of strength to drag Craig off of the towel he was lying on.  

“What the hell?” Craig shouted, losing hold of the woman in his arms and dropping her onto the sand.

“I’m not playing around, Craig.  Let’s go. I told you to be ready when my heats ended,” Deran argued, grabbing Craig’s clothes and throwing them at him.

Craig slowly got up, complaining about Deran cock blocking him the entire time.  His companions were gone before he could even get his shorts on.

“What’s crawled up your ass?” Craig asked, swaying as he pulled his shirt over his head.

“I had a shitty competition, and the last thing I want to be doing is taking care of your big dumb ass,” Deran snapped.  Deran wasn’t prepared for Craig to pull him into a tight hug and mess up his already tangled hair. He couldn’t deny that it felt nice though.  Until Craig let Deran take just about all of his weight.

“Shit, I’m fucked up.  Gonna need to sleep this off.  You up to driving us back?”

Deran sighed.  “Yeah, let’s just get out of here,” he said, gritting his teeth as he supported most of Craig’s weight while they walked back toward the truck.

“Sorry your heat got fucked.  The timing on that second wave was fucked,” Craig mumbled as they maneuvered around other tents.

“You watched my heat?” Deran didn’t bother hiding his surprise.

“Yeah, I was down on the beach.”

“Why didn’t you come get me after I got pulled out?”

“Figured Adrian had it covered when he grabbed you.  Dropped your board with his friend and came back to the tent to let the ladies console me,” he said, snorting at his own humor.

“It sucked,” Deran said.

“Eh, you’ll kick ass next time...how far is the truck?”

“Over there,” Deran pointed down the beach a second before he felt even more of Craig’s weight on his shoulder.  “Asshole,” he muttered as he stumbled in the direction of their vehicle.

Deran let out a frustrated grunt as he heaved Craig into the back seat of the truck. The man was massive and heavy as hell. He had a good eight inches on Deran and about a hundred pounds. Deran felt he deserved a medal just for dragging his brother's ass from the beach to the car.

“You are such a fucking asshole,” Deran complained, closing the back door only to catch Craig's massive leg in it as it flopped off the seat. Craig hardly reacted, and that just pissed Deran off more.

Deran shoved Craig's foot inside with a curse then slammed the door again, receiving no satisfaction when it closed smoothly. Deran unlocked the driver's side door and was just climbing in when a firm hand grasped his shoulder.

“Where are you going?” Adrian's voice was soft rather than accusing.

“Home. Smurf expects us for dinner,” Deran said, continuing to take his seat and start the car.

“You can't drive him home. You don't even have a permit, and if you get pulled over with him that high in the back? You're both fucked,” Adrian said, glancing into the back seat where Craig was snoring as he drooled all over the seat.

“What am I supposed to do? You know I can't fucking call someone to pick us up, and Smurf will have my ass if we don't get home for dinner. She hates that I do this as it is. I'm not giving her a reason to say I can't. Now, _let go_ ,” Deran insisted, jerking out of Adrian's grasp.

“Move over. I'll drive,” Adrian told him.

“Don't you have to drive yourself home?” Deran asked, surprising himself by not just telling Adrian to fuck off.  He wanted to. He hated when Adrian did this. Deran didn’t need Adrian looking out for him. He had enough older brothers.  He just wanted Adrian to be his friend.

“Brian gave me a ride up. No point taking a bunch of cars when we could all come together and split the cost,” Adrian said, sounding completely reasonable.

“I’m not a fucking kid,” Deran said, though he moved over as he did.

“Did I say that?  I said you don’t have a license.  I’m being practical.”

“Asshole,” Deran muttered, moving into the passenger seat and folding his arms.

Deran watched Adrian out of the corner of his eye as Adrian got situated.  “Are you seriously adjusting the mirror and seat?” Deran asked, shaking his head.

“Craig is a fucking giant.  How am I supposed to see out of the mirror when it’s set for him?” Adrian snapped back.

Deran rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.

“Don’t get upset with me because you didn’t think to adjust the mirror to be able to see out of it, or are you just so short that you’re used to not being able to--”

Deran nailed him in the arm.  Adrian cursed loudly, but he grinned as he looked over at Deran.

“It’s bad enough that I get shit from Craig and Baz.  You start, and they’ll never find your body,” Deran insisted.

“Not everyone can be six foot when they’re ten years old,” Adrian laughed, pulling the truck out of the parking space easily.  Craig truly had been a giant from the start.

Deran looked into the back seat where Craig had rolled onto his side but was still passed out.  His nerves had calmed a bit as Adrian distracted him from his darker thoughts.

“So where was he?”

“In a tent taking part in some kind of orgy.  All I know is I felt closer to death trying to drag his ass back here than I did when I was being crushed by those waves,” Deran admitted, reaching back to tuck a water bottle against Craig’s chest.

“I would’ve helped.”

“Not your problem.”

Deran could see Adrian nod out of the corner of his eye, but he said nothing else and they descended into silence.  Deran continued to watch Craig sleep for several minutes, hoping he hadn’t done anything permanently damaging this time.

“Hey.” Adrian’s hand landed on Deran’s thigh, squeezing gently.  “He’s not your responsibility. He makes his own decisions,” Adrian said, glancing at him for a moment before returning his eyes to the road.

“He is though.  If I didn’t have Craig, who would I have?  He’s a fuck up, but he’s got my back. No matter what.”

Deran could see Adrian shaking his head.  

“For what it’s worth, you have me,” Adrian said.

“You’re not blood.”

“Thank god for that,” Adrian laughed, and Deran laughed too.  “Come out with us tonight. We’ll probably just get high at Danny’s, but it’ll be a good time.”

“Yeah, sure.”

They lapsed into silence again, only breaking it when Craig woke briefly and demanded they pull over so he could puke.  Adrian didn’t even bat an eye as he shifted over three lanes to the shoulder and Craig threw open the door and puked right out the side of the truck.

“Drink the water I put back there.  You smell like shit by the way,” Deran told Craig when he finally pulled the door shut again.

“Where the fuck are we?” Craig asked, running his hand through his hair.

“Highway.”

“Why is Adrian driving?”

“Because you’re fucked up, man,” Adrian told him, pulling back into traffic.

“Deran can drive.”

“Seriously?” Adrian retorted.

“I was driving at his age.”

“You were well over six feet and had a beard then too,” Adrian shot back.

“True,” Craig said, laughing as he finished the bottle and threw it at Deran.

“Fuck off, both of you,” Deran complained, throwing back another bottle for Craig.  

Deran barely noticed that Adrian’s hand was still resting on his thigh as they continued the drive home, and Craig didn’t say anything as he quickly fell back to sleep.


End file.
